The Cheeses That Are Best Paired With A Sweet Bottle Of Moscato

Wine and cheese is a classic enough combo that you probably have some general ideas of what pairs with what, but a crisp bottle of moscato changes the game. At the most basic level, pairing with wine means finding a strong cheese that can stand up to more robust options, or teaming up brighter wines with less intense cheeses so their subtle flavors won't get overwhelmed. As far as wine pairings go, that's pretty easy to keep track of. But sparkling moscato d'Asti, and other sweet wines, throw a bit of a wrench into that easy formula. They are often bright and clean tasting like white wine, but the fruit flavors and sweetness can also give them a lot more punch than a dry white. To help us out with this dilemma we reached out to an expert, Dominick DiBartolomeo, the owner of The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, to ask what cheeses he would pair with a bottle of sweet moscato.

DiBartolomeo gave us an answer that may not be everyone's first choice, but is certainly intriguing, saying, "With sweet Moscato, my immediate recommendation is blue cheese." That's a style of cheese that can provoke love it or hate it opinions in people, but as he explains, "Blue cheeses have a variety of flavor profiles that make them a great option, some are salty, acidic, intense and buttery, all these flavors contrast nicely with the sweetness of the Moscato."

If you aren't sure about Dominick DiBartolomeo's blue cheese recommendation, or just think they all taste the same, there are actually a lot of blue cheese styles that might change your mind. All blue cheeses get their name from the use of blue mold that is either added directly by cheesemakers, or develops naturally in the aging process. This is the source that gives the cheese its signature tang and funky fermented flavor, but blue cheese goes through many of the same processes and decisions of other cheeses, which drastically alter the taste from cheese to cheese. They can be hard or soft, young or old cheeses, and emphasize other flavors. However, DiBartolomeo's opinion is that almost any version will work with moscato.

The big names in blue cheese are English Stilton, French Roquefort, and Italian gorgonzola, and even within those choices you'll find interesting variations for wine pairing. Roquefort is among the most intense of the blue cheeses, and its sharp pungent flavor will cut through the sweetness and bubbles of moscato d'Asti. Stilton is a more mild variety, and will have nutty and salty notes you associate with other aged cheeses, but still enough blue cheese spice to contrast a bright glass of moscato. If you are worried about a moscato pairing with a style you don't know, the amount of blue pockets in each cheese is a good indication of its intensity.

While blue cheese is Dominick DiBartolomeo's first recommendation, he isn't about putting limits in place, and says, "I also like to think outside the box to the not so obvious options." For him that means, "triple creme, chevres and even aged cheeses." As he told us, a big part of this pairing suggestion comes not from moscato's sweetness, but from the bubbles of this sparkling wine. DiBartolomeo explained that, "the fattiness of the triple cremes leave a blanket on your pallet, the bubbles from the Moscato are like a scissor that cuts through the blanket." The effect of carbonation on rich creamy cheeses emphasizes how textures play a role with wine and cheese. It's a combination that DiBartolomeo likes, saying, "it's actually a really pleasant sensation plus you finish with an overall sweetness that I really like."

Rich triple cream cheeses also come in many styles like blue cheese, but there are two big ones that are a good place to start: brie and mascarpone. Not all brie cheeses are triple cream, they will be labeled that way when they are, but brie does have that mouth-coating fattiness DiBartolomeo is describing. Italian mascarpone is also a natural pairing with a sweet Italian wine like moscato, with a buttery flavor that will emphasize the sweetness of the wine. It tastes great simply spread across some crusty Italian bread. Sometimes when you have a question about pairing wine and cheese the best option is sticking close to home, matching this Italian-origin wine with bread and cheese from the country.